ESP: What inspired you to start a STEM business?
Ashton: I taught in the classroom for nine years before leaving to run a business. The last school I taught at was Bayside Academy, where I was encouraged to pursue a master’s degree. Since our third-grade team held a STEM Day every Friday, I decided it would be best to earn my master’s with a focus on STEM. I found an incredible program through Clemson and received my Master’s Degree in Teaching and Learning with a STEM Certification.
After completing my degree, I moved to sixth-grade science at Bayside, and I loved it! However, I wanted to see if there was something out there that would allow me to teach STEM full-time because I had fallen so in love with it. While teaching that year, I spent a lot of time searching for the best place to do that and found STEM For Kids. After lots of prayer and meetings, we decided that was the route for me to take!
ESP: How has being a mom influenced the way you lead and innovate?
Ashton: Even though I’ve only officially been a mom for two years, I feel like being a teacher influenced and shaped me into the mom I am today. During those years in the classroom, you have different sets of “kids”. You learn to love all kinds of children and adapt to what each one needs. You want the best for all of your students and work hard to reach them in meaningful ways. I’m able to take everything I’ve learned and continue to learn from those students, and it helps me be a better mom.
ESP: As a mom, how do you hope for your work to impact the next generation?
Ashton: I hope that the students I teach become interested in and confident enough to pursue a career in STEM, if that’s what they choose to do. One of the best parts of teaching STEM is watching students fail and persevere through the process. When they don’t succeed at one of our challenges, there is so much learning that comes from that failure. They come up with new ways to solve problems, and the best part is they’re learning without even realizing it because we’re always having fun. I pray that these lessons stay with them and that they aren’t afraid to try something they’re interested in, even if it’s hard. I hope this for my own kids as well.
ESP: How do you juggle running a business and being a mom? Do you have any tips on how to stay balanced and focused?
Ashton: When I started the business in 2021, we didn’t have kids, so I spent all of my time pushing to get the business and my name out there. I worked as many birthday parties in a day as I could, and my husband helped me on the weekends. Anytime we had free time, we did anything we could to bring kids into the store. Whenever he had an off day, we were trying to book field trips.
Fast forward to now with a two-year-old — I’ve slowed down a lot. We prayed for a child for years, and now that this moment is here, we’re enjoying it, and I try not to give all my time to work. I’ve prioritized 3–4 days a week to visit as many schools as I can, and I stay home with my son one weekday, as well as the weekend. I still work birthday parties, but usually just one per weekend.
I do still pour all of my energy into summer camp as that is our busy season and my favorite time with the kids! Having an employee who can step up and help at any moment has been wonderful. She is someone who has helped grow the business and keep everything running smoothly, even when I’m unavailable.
ESP: What do you feel is your greatest strength as a mother?
Ashton: I think my greatest strength as a mother is patience. Having a background in education has really helped me grow as a mom, because there was so much I already knew and understood from being in a classroom with several kids at a time. My husband jokes all the time about how much patience I have with other children, and with our own child, when I have almost none for myself when completing tasks on my own! Kids can test you in so many ways, and things can get chaotic, but I’m able to go with the flow and adapt quickly.
ESP: What type of legacy do you want to leave for your children?
Ashton: There are so many things I hope to leave as my legacy for my children. The most important thing is for them to know Jesus—to know how deeply loved they are by Christ, even long after we are gone. I want them to know they are loved unconditionally. From the moment we found out about them, our world changed, and we have loved them exactly as they are. I also want them to always remember to find joy in the small moments. Those memories are just as precious as the big ones.
I want my children to know what hard work looks like. They need to understand that they can work for anything they want in life, even when it’s difficult. I hope they see the work ethic my husband and I have and grow up to be hard workers, no matter what job title they hold. I want them to work just as hard and show respect to everyone they meet.
Rapid Fire Questions:
- Tacos or Pizza? Pizza
- Stay awake for 24 hours or sleep for 24 hours? Sleep 24 hours
- Read books or Watch Movies? Watch movies
- One magic power you’d like to possess? To be able to fly
- One word to describe yourself? Grateful
Ashton Crist has been married to her husband JT for nearly 11 years. Together, they have a son, Henry (2), and are expecting a baby girl this year. The family loves to travel, watch football and softball games, go swimming, and play outside. They enjoy feeding the fish off their dock every night, Mardi Gras season, and going to church. Ashton owns STEM For Kids Mobile Bay and her husband is a supervisor at the Chevron refinery in Pascagoula.
